Partner Teacher Conference
Join the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum for a day of collaboration with fellow partner teachers from across Chicago, as well as with Nature Museum scientists and educators.
- Time of Year
- Annually in January
- Location
- At The Museum
Learning from Nature, Adapting our Teaching
Saturday, January 25, 2025 | 9am – 3pm
Breakfast and check in starts at 8:30am
Join us at the Nature Museum for this year’s Partner Teacher Conference as we explore the ways that adaptations in nature can inform what we do in the classroom.
Our keynote and breakout sessions will highlight Nature Museum scientists and the work they are doing to conserve nature right here in and around Chicago. Conference sessions will include connections to best practices in science education and the Next Generation Science Standards.
Teachers are eligible to receive Professional Development Clock Hours for attendance and can expect to leave with a variety of tools, strategies, and materials to use with their students in the classroom.
Keynote Address
The Emergence Convergence of 2024:
A retrospective on the mass emergence of and public outreach on periodical cicadas
In 2024 Illinois experienced the mass emergence of both Brood XIII and Brood XIX periodical cicadas across its landscape, a phenomenon which occurs only once every 221 years. This historic event sparked intensive public interest in learning about the natural history of these insects and how they interact with people.
Join Allen Lawrance, Curator of Entomology, to look back at what happened during this emergence convergence by reviewing periodical cicada biology and the mass public education achieved through the multitude of outreach, education, media, and participatory science initiatives that took place throughout our communities.
Conference Highlights
- Engage with museum scientists and educators through tailored breakout sessions centered around natural phenomena, urban ecology, and best practices in science education including the Next Generation Science Standards
- Leave with strategies and materials to use in the classroom
- Discover unique museum resources for in- and out-of-classroom learning
- Earn Professional Development Clock Hours
- Enjoy complimentary breakfast, lunch, and coffee
- Have a chance to win raffle prizes
Breakout Session Descriptions
Select the sessions that are most relevant and interesting to you! All participants will be inspired by the same keynote address then rotate through three breakout sessions. Each breakout session has four workshop choices. Please note, the workshop selections for Breakout Sessions 2 and 3 are the same. When you register, please make sure you have unique selections for Session 2 and Session 3.
BREAKOUT SESSION 1 WORKSHOP CHOICES
Life is tough in Illinois. To call this place home, our native amphibians have developed a plethora of adaptations to make it in the city and beyond. Come meet some of our resilient critters and explore their survival strategies in the face of unpredictable seasons.
Turtles have remained relatively unchanged for 200 million years, while humans have drastically transformed their habitats. This workshop explores how these ancient creatures are impacted by modern challenges and the conservation efforts underway to protect them in the face of rapid changes.
This session will explore how plant adaptations and human ingenuity bring us together around the dinner table.
Participatory sciences include community science, citizen science, community-based monitoring, volunteer research, and more. This session will share a range of participatory science projects that can be leveraged to engage your students in authentic scientific research and help foster science identity, agency, and sense of belonging.
BREAKOUT SESSION 2 & 3 WORKSHOP CHOICES
Let’s move from one home to another! Nature can sometimes carry more lessons than we might expect. In this session we will discuss connecting natural phenomena such as bird migrations, to a reality that many people throughout the world experience(d). Join us as we use scientific practices such as birding to reach diverse audiences through social emotional learning.
Cycles are everywhere in nature: seasons, life cycles, and celestial patterns. One of the best ways to capture and assess changes all around us is to record the things we observe. In this session, explore a variety of student journal-based tools and practices to make observations, collect data, and make sense of the world around us as it shifts and changes.
Jump into the lives of Chicago’s least loved animals. How can we leverage the stories of classically urban animals to connect students to their ecological community? Think through the impact that building empathy towards these misunderstood creatures has on making science relevant to our students.
Everywhere in nature, there is play! Crows borrow yogurt lids to sled down roofs, bees have been known to bounce balls, and rats LOVE hide-and-seek. Understanding these creatures' behaviors can connect us to our students and the act of play in wonderful and surprising ways!
Registration
The conference is only $10, but space is limited. Register early to ensure your spot and reserve your top breakout session picks. Registration closes January 15th!
If you have any questions please email teacherprograms@naturemuseum.org.
Experience nature and science up close with a trip to the Nature Museum.